Patent attributes
A substrate processing method capable of preventing a substrate rear surface from being scratched when attracted onto an electrostatic chuck. In a coater/developer (11), a photocurable resin is coated onto a rear surface of a wafer (W), the resin is cured to form a resin protective film, and a resist is coated onto a front surface of the wafer. An exposing apparatus (12) subjects the resist to light exposure processing, irradiating ultraviolet light onto a resist portion of a pattern reversed with respect to a mask pattern. The coater/developer uses a washing liquid to remove the resist, thereby forming a resist film. In an etching apparatus (13), the front surface of the wafer is electrostatically attracted onto an electrostatic chuck (49) is subjected to RIE processing. In a washing apparatus (14), the resin protective film is dissolved and removed.